The Other Side of the World

"Let go of me!"

Pinned to the ground with someone sitting on her, even knowing the other party was also female, Gwen still felt humiliated and furious, struggling hard as she gritted out through clenched teeth.

Xi Nian, sitting on top of her, was now at a loss.

Just now, it was Gwen who had struck first. To keep her from hurting him and from seeing his real face, he'd been forced to defend himself.

But now.

Though he had her subdued, he hadn't thought about what to do next.

Let the Spider-Woman go?

Never mind whether she'd attack again—at this close range, the moment he loosened his grip, she could turn her head and see his face clearly!

Xi Nian didn't want to expose his true identity. All his abilities came from his Aunt, not from any innate talent of his own. Maybe he'd only hold onto them for tonight; come tomorrow, he'd be back to being an ordinary human.

But if he didn't let go, he couldn't just stay like this all night.

"Maybe I'll just knock her out."

A flicker of hesitation crossed Xi Nian's eyes, worried he might accidentally use too much force.

Just as he was thinking about how to temporarily immobilize the Spider-Woman, she suddenly arched her body mid-struggle, lifting her only unrestrained right foot high into the air. Her small foot, clad in a green low-top special shoe, hooked like a claw around Xi Nian's neck from above.

"Huh?!"

Xi Nian's throat was tightly cinched by the nimble little foot, forcing his body to lean back.

Realizing the Spider-Woman was trying to break free from his hold this way, Xi Nian held his breath, kept his left hand gripping her left ankle, and tightened his right hand's hold on her clasped wrists, refusing to give her any chance to escape.

Crack, crack, crack!

Bones popped like beans in a frying pan.

The two of them, one on top and one below, their bodies nearly pressed together, seemed to have entered a tug-of-war of endurance!

The Spider-Woman Gwen, on the bottom, arched her body almost into a crescent moon, her slender, willowy waist looking like it might snap at any moment. Xi Nian, sitting on top and pressed close against her Spider-suit, could feel with startling clarity the incredible flexibility and strength of the body beneath him.

"Let go!" Xi Nian wanted to shout.

The Spider-Woman beat him to it: "You let go first!"

Her small foot, hooked around Xi Nian's throat, pulled back with all her strength, while her petite frame twisted and struggled relentlessly.

"!!!" Xi Nian's eyes flew wide.

It was because the Spider-Woman's foot pulling back, combined with her constant struggling, was slowly shifting his body backward. He'd started sitting on her back, but now, Xi Nian's hard seat had upgraded to a soft seat—the softest kind.

Xi Nian was stunned. He was wearing a short skirt right now.

The Spider-Woman had no idea. Sensing Xi Nian's body stiffen, she mistook it for him losing strength, and twisted and struggled even harder.

The quality of the Spider-suit was beyond doubt, but designed for outdoor action and breathability, it was even thinner than an ordinary jacket or jeans—thin enough that it couldn't hide the perfect curve of her cleavage.

And with its wearer moving so violently...

"Oh no."

Xi Nian cursed inwardly, unsure whether this was pleasure or torment. The boiling heat in his body began to surge downward.

"What's that?"

The Spider-Woman finally realized something was wrong. From beneath the hem of the skirt, an unidentified object pressed against her through the thin layer of the Spider-suit.

Xi Nian abruptly let go of her left ankle, grabbed the leftover white webbing beside him, and wound it like a rope around the Spider-Woman's hands several times, also looping it around the small foot still hooked on his neck.

He finished all this in a flash.

Xi Nian leaped off the Spider-Woman, pulled the Retro Longsword free from the iron door where it was stuck, and without looking back, vaulted toward the high-rise across the street.

Maybe it was luck, or maybe tonight's string of encounters had given him some familiarity with supernatural power.

This time, Xi Nian perfectly controlled his jumping force, clearing twenty meters of open air and landing precisely on the water tower of the opposite building. With a few more running steps and leaps, his figure, shield on his back, vanished into the city night as the snow fell heavier.

Ten seconds later.

"You damn bastard, I'll kill you!"

"Where are you? Come out!!"

After cleaning the webbing off herself, the girl's face beneath the Spider-Man mask was flushed with fury. Her black-and-white suit seemed to be on fire as she began swinging wildly between the skyscrapers.

Even half a street away, Xi Nian could hear the girl's enraged shouts behind him.

"Can't blame me for this." Xi Nian gave a bitter laugh, looking down at his clearly bulging skirt hem, and quickly found a corner on the top floor of a building to hide.

After a while, the Spider-Woman swung past on a nearby high-rise and sped off into the distance.

"This time, I can finally go home, right?"

His skirt now flat again, Xi Nian let out a breath and stepped out from the building's shadow, sword in hand.

He looked around.

Spotting some landmark buildings nearby, he quickly confirmed he was at the border between Washington's inner and outer districts, over ten kilometers from the city center where his home was.

God knows how he'd gotten here.

"Jump back again?" Xi Nian felt a bit helpless but had no other choice. Just as he was about to head home, something unexpected happened!

Thud!

The building Xi Nian was in suddenly shuddered.

"What's this?" Xi Nian thought it might be his imagination, but the next second, the building he stood on trembled with a clear jolt again!

Xi Nian quickly snapped to attention and scanned the surrounding city blocks.

It wasn't just the building he was on—nearby high-rises were all visibly shaking!

Was this an earthquake?

The thought barely surfaced before he ruled it out.

No!

His current five senses and awareness had surpassed human cognition, letting him perceive things ordinary people couldn't detect. The source of these tremors didn't seem to come from beneath the city's surface—it was purely originating from some point on the ground in the surrounding urban area!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Every second or few seconds, the city's earth and buildings quivered faintly, as if a giant hammer was pounding the ground with savage force!

"It's not far from here." Xi Nian muttered to himself, standing atop the building, gazing down at a specific spot on the city streets below.

As if confirming his superhuman perception and judgment.

Boom!!

In Xi Nian's view, a building two or three kilometers away in the city district suddenly collapsed with a thunderous roar!

The city's winter night, once steeped in stillness and tranquility, was shattered outright by some unknown, terrifying entity!

And this was just the opening act.

Bang bang bang!!!

Boom boom boom—

Ear-splitting gunfire and artillery blasts followed in rapid succession, dense and unbroken, like thunderclaps in a summer storm, erupting from the collapsed building as ground zero!

Blazing flames shot skyward, spreading in all directions, igniting several bustling streets and the city sky around them.

"Roar—!"

From the urban battlefield, now reduced to a corner of Purgatory, rose a bone-chilling howl. It was absolutely not human or any animal, overpowering even the carpet-bombing barrage of modern artillery!

"What is that?"

Xi Nian's eyes widened as he stared into the heart of the flames and smoke in the distant district, catching a fleeting glimpse of a massive yellow-green shadow—as if he'd just seen the true reverse side of this world!